Keep Soaring!

Finally, it’s outdoor bike-riding season! How I’ve longed for the temperature to rise above 50 degrees so I could hit the trail. We’re blessed to have an exercise room in our building, but getting my heart rate up on the stationary bike just isn’t the same as putting on my helmet and heading to the county forest preserve.

As I cruised along one morning, birds of every sort flew and sang around me. In one section, I noticed many kinds of tiny, colorful finches, and in another I heard the bossy chirps of Red-winged Blackbirds.

Way up above to my north, I spotted a Turkey Vulture in flight, but not without interference. A series of smaller birds harassed it, nearly flying right into it. That’s not an unusual occurrence for large scavenger birds. As these small pests tried to peck at the vulture, it flapped its huge wings and soared away, leaving the nuisances behind.

I smiled ruefully at the vulture’s plight as I considered some hinderances in my life. The enemy of my soul tries to keep me from my calling with put-downs and obstacles. One example is when I sat down to write this blog post, I noticed my to-do list and reached into my greeting card pile to send a birthday card to a nephew. Then a phone call on the same list had me dialing and waiting on hold to take care of a medical matter for my dog. Wait—isn’t today supposed to be my writing day?

I disconnected the on-hold phone call and turned my attention back to my computer screen, asking the Lord to let my words encourage someone. The truth is I am a child of the King of the universe because of Jesus Christ, and I have power to rise above the distractions that come at me from every direction. If you are Christ’s, keep soaring above the fake threats of our enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy us.